Self laminated hanging file folder

ABSTRACT

A hanging file folder having a front panel and a rear panel formed integrally from a piece of paper and connected about a bottom fold. A hanger member is formed integrally with the panels at the upper end of each and each hanger member includes a plurality of plies of the panel folded one upon the other and adhered to one another. Each hanger member includes an upper portion and a lower portion with the upper portion having hooks formed at the opposite ends thereof and which are located laterally outwardly of the sides of the panels. The lower portion of each hanger member is offset relative to the upper portion to strengthen the hanger member. The hooks extend toward the bottom fold but terminate short of the lower portion of each hanger member.

nite States Patent [191 King [451 Feb. 4, 1975 SELF LAMINATED HANGING FILE FOLDER [75] Inventor: Jack C. King, North Muskegon,

Mich.

[73] Assignee: The Shaw-Walker Company,

Muskegon, Mich.

[22] Filed: July 9, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 377,586

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 154,458, June 18, 1971,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 229/15 R, 40/359, 312/184 [51] Int. Cl B65d l/00 [58] Field of Search 229/1.5 R; 40/359;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,120,904 6/1938 Moore ..229/37E 3,292,982 12/1966 Rubissow ..3l2/l84 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 568,431 1/1933 Germany 312/184 Primary Examiner-William L. Price Assistant Examiner-Stephen P. Garbe Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kinzer, Plyer, Dorn & McEachran [57] ABSTRACT A hanging file folder having a front panel and a rear panel formed integrally from a piece of paper and connected about a bottom fold. A hanger member is formed integrally with the panels at the upper end of each and each hanger member includes a plurality of plies of the panel folded one upon the other and adhered to one another. Each hanger member includes an upper portion and a lower portion with the upper portion having hooks formed at the opposite ends thereof and which are located laterally outwardly of the sides of the panels. The lower portion of each hanger member is offset relative to the upper portion to strengthen the hanger member. The hooks extend toward the bottomfold but terminate short of the lower portion of each hanger member.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SELF LAMINATED HANGING FILE FOLDER This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 154,458, filed June 18, 1971 now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to filing devices and more specifically to hanging file folders and methods of making them.

Present commercially marketed hanging file folders are generally ofa two material construction. Such folders usually consist of a cardboard or other paper type material body section, having a front and back panel, and a manufactured top edge section. The top edge section may include a metal strip or other structure secured to the upper edge of the body section. The metal strip frequently projects outwardly beyond the upper edge corners and terminates, at each side, in hooks or other suspension members which cooperate with racks or similar suspending devices in a desk or filing cabinet drawer.

Nearly invariably such present structures are subject to certain defects including, most importantly, a relatively slow production rate. Since such folders have a relatively low unit cost, production capacity is a critical factor in determining marketability in this highly competitive field. Present folders are also subject to fairly rapid wear in use, abrasion wear due to the scoring effect between the suspension members and the suspending members such as the metal racks, noise, and relatively high cost resulting, in at least in part, from material and processing costs.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a hanging file folder which can be fabricated from roll stock to finished product in one production run at a high production rate which may be up to 200 units per minute, or even higher.

Another object is to provide a hanging file folder having the production capacity as above described which is less expensive to manufacture than similar items in current use.

Yet a further object is to provide a hanging file folder as above described which is stronger than similar items in current use.

Yet another object is to provide a hanging file folder whose wearing ability is at least equal to present commercial products, and has superior abrasion resistance with respect t9 metal suspension racks.

Another dB Ft is to provide a method of manufacturing a hanging file folder as above described.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description of the invention.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagramatically in the accompanying figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the hanging file folder of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an edge view of the hanging file folder illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an edge view in part section, to an expanded scale as contrasted to the scale of FIG. 2, of the upper edge portion of the hanging file folder of the invention; and

FIG. 4A, 4B is an illustration, partly diagramatic in nature, of the method of fabricating the hanging file folder of the present invention.

Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like parts through out the following description of the drawmgs.

The improved hanging file folder of this invention is indicated generally at H) in FIG. 1 and 2. The folder includes a front panel 11 and a back panel 12, the panels being connected along a fold 13. If desired, front panel 11 may be scored, as at 14 and 15, to accommodate progressively increasing expansion of the folder as it fills in use.

The upper edge portion of each of front panel II and back panel 12 terminates in a thickened section or hanger member indicated generally at 17 and 18, respectively. From FIG. 3 it will be noted that the thickened upper edge portion consists essentially of several folds or plies of the stock from which the adjacent panel is composed which are bent back and secured one to the other. Thus, it will be seen that in the illustrated example six plies 19 24 respectively have been employed. Each of the plies, in this instance, is secured to the adjacent ply or plies, as the case may be, by an adhesive material located between the plies. Thus, for example, the adhesive material 26 secures the interior surface of ply 23 to the exterior surface of ply 21, and in the same manner adhesive material 27 secures the interior surface of ply 21' to the exterior surface of ply l9. Ply 23 is of course secured in adhering relationship to only one adjacent ply, ply 21, whereas ply 21 is secured to two adjacent plies, ply 23 and ply 19. The adhesive material, 26, may be any conventional adhesive used in the printing industry today which is compatible with the stock from which the folder is formed.

If desired, the thickened upper end portion can be crimped or offset as at 29, and, if desired, again at 30 forming an offset lower portion 31 below an upper portion 33 of the hanger members 17 and 18 for purposes of strength.

The folder may have perfectly straight side edges 32, 34, from top to bottom. Optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the thickened upper edge portion 17 may terminate in a hook like element 35, 36 at each end thereof to enable the file folder to function as a hanging file folder. In this instance a conventional hook is formed having seats 37, 38 formed in the thickened portions l7, 18 of a size sufficient to be received upon a support structure, such as a bar or rack located in a file drawer.

Alternately, the folder material, instead of being a cardboard type material to which a separate adhesive material is applied at the upper edge portions thereof, may be a paper type materialwith a plastic coating, such as a polyethylene coating of the type used in conjunction with a conventional paper milk carton. If de sired, the folder may even be made of a plastic material which, upon application of heat, becomes flowable whereby abutting ply surfaces can be welded, if not melted, into one another.

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a continuous production process for producing the above described file folder. The process includes a source of folder stock, which in this instance is a roll of cardboard 40 mounted for rotation by any convenient means around axis 41. A continuous ribbon of folder material is indicated at 42 which passes up and over a positioning and tightening pulley 43. The stock then passes through ascoring station, indicated generally at 44, consisting of upper and lower rolls, 45, 46. The rolls score the extreme edge portion of each side of the continuous ribbon a number of times equal to the desired number of bends in the final thickened upper edge portions of the folder. Thus, to produce the folder of FIG. 3, the scoring roll would include five scoring members at each end which correspond respectively to the five bends illustrated in FIG. 3.

From the scoring station the stock passes immediately to the glue application station where glue or other suitable adhesive is applied in any convenient manner by applicator 48 as the stock passes over base roller 49.

After leaving the glue application station the stock moves past a series of folding and pressing stations, one of which is indicated generally at 50. in the folding and pressing station the material is first folded upwardly approximately 90 by a conventional plow bar roller, indicated generally at 51, and then folded back into abutting relationship with the main body of the ribbon under the folding and pressing rollers 52, 53. This operation may be repeated as many times as desired, depending upon the number of folds in the edge of each folder. Thus to form the six ply thickened upper edge portionof FIG. 3, five such folding and pressing stations may be employed, it being understood that one complete fold and press may be accomplished in each station.

Following folding and pressing the stock, which now includes a thickened edge portion at each edge thereof may, if desired, pass into an offsetting station 55 which consists of a series of rolls which function to progressively offset the thickened edge portion and form ribs, if desired. it is in this station, for example, that offset 29, 30, may be formed.

Following the offset forming operation, the stock may then be printed at a printing unit indicated generally at 56.lt may be desirable to imprint sequence indicia or a coding system on the folder at this point, though it will be understood that frequently such file folders will be sold in an unmarked, unprinted condition.

Following passage through the printing unit, if one is employed, the stock, still in ribbon form, passes into a gathering section indicated generally at 57, the purpose of which will become apparent upon a description of the following station.

A separating station is indicated generally at 60, the purpose of which is to separate the continuous band or ribbon of semi-finished product into individual units. The separating station includes a cut-off die assembly 61 which includes a die cutting member 62, back-up member 63 and a cut-off die actuating mechanism 64 which functions to move the cut-off die 62 into and out of engagement with the ribbon of material. in this instance a simple crank shaft arrangement has been illustrated.

Pinch rolls 65, 66 are an integral part of the separation station. These rolls momentarily disengage during cut off. That is, they function to feed the semi-finished continuous ribbon forwardly, that is to the right, while cut-off die 62 is in an elevated, non-operating condition. The pinch rolls are disengaged by actuation of a suitable synchronism mechanism and, at the same instant, the cut-off die 62 engages the stock to separate the continuous ribbon into separate units.

On completion of the separation operation the cutoff die 62 moves out of engagement with the stock, the pinch rolls 65, 66 move back into engagement with one another and, by virtue of their continuing rotation, feed semi-finished stock to the left of the station toward the cut-off die preparatory to the next cut-off operation.

The gathering station 57 is essential to enable the semi-finished stock, indicated generally at 68, to accommodate the separating operation, since there is a momentary stoppage of the stock in the separation station while the cut-off die is actuated. As the cutting operation is carried out, the ribbon issuing out of the printing unit 56, or off-set forming unit 55, continuously moves forward, and the material humps upwardly, that is, is gathered, during the instant the stock is stationary in the separation station 60.

.It will be understood that ifa hanging type file folder is to be formed, that is, one having the hook like element 35, 36 in FIG. 1, the waste material indicated within the dotted line areas 69, 70 of FIG. 1, may be simultaneously trimmed at this time.

Upon issuing from the cut-off station, each individual unit-may be given a final press in a pressing station 71 consisting of pairs of rolls 72, 72, the purpose of which is to level and square the material.

Following issuance from the pressing station 71 the unit may be center creased by center crease roller 74,

which forms the fold l3, and thereafter folded by a conventional flip-over arrangement and accumulated on an accumulator table in a, conventional manner.

it will be understood that ifa product is required having a heat adhered upper welded terminal edge surface the stock 40 will consist of either a plastic coated paper, as above described, or a plastic material. in this event the adhesive application station 47 may be eliminated and a heat application station incorporated into, or just up stream from, the progressive off-set edge roll forming station 55. In all other respects the process may be identical to the illustrated and described process.

By virtue of the progressive nature of the process the formation of individual units can be readily carried out on a continuous production basis which may reach or exceed 200 units per minute. This contrasts to present production processes for this type of folder of approximately 30 units per minute. The net result is a very substantial production cost saving.

Tests have indicated that the folder of the present invention is nearly two to three times stronger than competitive items on the market. Further, the product has at least equal wearing ability to competitive items, and is not as subjective to rack abrasion wear as is the conventional metal hanger type. Comparable tests on metal hangers have shown for example that the nonmetal hanger of the instant invention is not subject to the scoring effect of conventional metal hangers. in addition, material costs are considerably lower than most competitive items since only a single material in roll form is required. 1

Possibly the greatest advantage however is the fact that because of the type of construction savings can be realized in the manufacturing process since the folder lends itself to automatic production and less labor is required.

It will at once be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited not by the above description, but solely by the hereinafter appended claims when interpreted in light of the foregoing description and the'pertinent prior art.

6 I claim: the lower portion of each hanger member being off- I. A hanging file folder including: set relative to the upper portion to strengthen said a front panel and a rear panel formed integrally from hanger member,

a piece of paper and connected about a bottom said hook members extending toward said bottom fold, 5 fold but terminating short of the lower portion of a hanger member formed integrally at the upper end said hanger member.

of each panel and including a plurality of plies of 2. The hanging file folder of claim 1 further characsaid panel folded one upon the other and adhered terized in that said first plies include an end ply which to one another, is positioned between four other plies. each hanger member including an upper portion and 10 3. The hanging file folder of claim 2 further characa lower portion with the upper portion having terized in that said end ply has at least two other of said hooks formed at the opposite ends thereof and loplies positioned on each side thereof. cated laterally outwardly of the sides of the panels, 

1. A hanging file folder including: a front panel and a rear panel formed integrally from a piece of paper and connected about a bottom fold, a hanger member formed integrally at the upper end of each panel and including a plurality of plies of said panel folded one upon the other and adhered to one another, each hanger member including an upper portion and a lower portion with the upper portion having hooks formed at the opposite ends thereof and located laterally outwardly of the sides of the panels, the lower portion of each hanger member being offset relative to the upper portion to strengthen said hanger member, said hook members extending toward said bottom fold but terminating short of the lower portion of said hanger member.
 2. The hanging file folder of claim 1 further characterized in that said first plies include an end ply which is positioned between four other plies.
 3. The hanging file folder of claim 2 further characterized in that said end ply has at least two other of said plies positioned on each side thereof. 